Frank Warren has given a damning verdict on Oleksandr Usyk\u2019s clash with Rico Verhoeven, unimpressed by the Ukrainian not defending his WBC world title against a worthy contender.<\/p>\n
The 39-year-old has not fought since his fifth-round stoppage victory over Daniel Dubois in July, back when he became a three-time, two-division undisputed champion.<\/p>\n
Since then, Usyk has vacated his WBO title<\/a>, which is now held by Fabio Wardley, while keeping hold of his WBC, IBF and WBA straps.<\/p>\n But while many still regard him as the bona fide heavyweight king, it is nonetheless difficult to accept his upcoming WBC title defence as a credible matchup.<\/p>\n Instead, Usyk\u2019s showdown with kickboxing legend Verhoeven is being viewed as a largely uninspiring headliner at the Pyramids of Giza, Egypt, on May 23.<\/p>\n His opponent has, after all, only had one professional boxing outing \u2013 against 0-6 heavyweight Janos Finfera \u2013 which he won by second-round stoppage in 2014.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, WBC \u2018interim\u2019 champion Agit Kabayel has been forced to wait in the wings, despite having amassed a string of impressive finishes over Zhilei Zhang, Frank Sanchez and Arslanbek Makhmudov.<\/p>\n As Kabayel\u2019s promoter, Queensberry boss Warren has told talkSPORT<\/a> that, after his crossover match with Verhoeven, Usyk must either vacate his WBC title or defend it against his leading challenger.<\/p>\n